Lost Passions
by Mayukanj
Summary: Sakura gives Sasuke something and Sasuke takes something from her. Who was behind all of this? Did this person really want them to be together or has another motive brewing behind everything?
1. Trying to Think

_A/N:_** Please try to spare your time to try and read this...just tell me something I don't know about this, the one that most people here refer to as _Reviews..._**

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**_Chapter 1:Trying to Think_**

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The rain poured heavily from the gray sky hovering Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village. Everyone was safely tucked in their warm homes and was finally resting with their families…except one. A girl, fairly known as the Fifth Hokage's second apprentice and as the girl born with natural pink hair, was walking slowly down the streets. Her head was bowed down and her green eyes were downcast, staring at the cold, wet pavement below her.

She was literally deep in her thoughts. She finally reached her home, hesitating before placing her index finger over the doorbell and pressing it gently to let its residents know of her arrival. Shuffling and muffled noises came from behind the wooden panel before a soft click made its way to the door knob. It swung open, revealing a woman older than her in sleeping robes. The woman had flaming red hair that reached her elbows. She also had bright, blue-colored eyes.

"Sakura…" came her barely audible voice. Her lips were pale and her eyes were bloodshot. She critically needed to get some sleep to fix her dilemma.

"Mother, I'm going to bed…I'm…tired…" Sakura replied, as she raised her right hand over her mouth and yawned.

"Okay, sleep well, dear." her mother said, regaining her normally strong voice.

Sakura's mother closed the door, sheltering them from the infernal droplets of water that tried to pry their way into their warm home. After that, she watched Sakura walk carefully up the staircase to her room and went on her own way to her own room to finally get the rest she much needed after working at the market with dozens of overtimes to fill their everyday needs. She reached her room and shut the door tight and drifted to sleep.

On the other hand, our little cherry blossom locked her room and went straight to her bathroom to get the stains of mud and other forms of dirt from her body that came from their training today with their Kakashi-sensei. Everything was going fine, until the skies above decided to play with them and get them dirtier than how much they were intended to be.

She wrapped herself up with a fluffy, soft pink towel and placed her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper. Sakura put on her green pj's and started brushing her pink hair. She finished untangling her locks and put down the wooden brush she used. She stared at her reflection for a while, as if asking it questions she couldn't answer. She suddenly remembered something and rushed to the clothes basket. She took her dirty clothes and dug her hands into its pockets, in search of an object. Her eyes widened as she found the object and clutched onto it tight. She walked slowly back into her room and sat on the edge of her bed to start examining the piece of jewelry that was hanging freely under her fingers. It had a black string that contained the silver, circular pendant where a hemisphere of a precious crystal orb was attached to. The crystal was rapidly changing colors as she stared into it.

"So pretty…" she commented as she tilted her head to the right, still looking at the fine object.

"Should I? Or should I not? This is so HARD!" she screamed, obviously very frustrated and annoyed. Good thing her room was shut tight and far from her mother's room, or she would've had a fit and have lectured her on toning her voice down since it was very unladylike…not like she wouldn't yell her insides out at the same time, too…of course, where'd she think Sakura got her attitude from…

Sakura dropped the necklace into her new clothes' pocket and laid flat on her back on her bed. She thought things over, but never got her answer. She eventually fell asleep and decided to just let fate take control, letting a single word before drifting to unconsciousness…

_…Sasuke-kun…_

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The birds chirped and fluttered its wings, away from the branch of a Sakura tree planted near our pink-haired nin's house, beside her room's window. The sun shone brightly above the sky and reflected on the kunoichi's face, staring into the wilderness while rested on the window's ledge in her room. Her head resting on the wall behind her, her left leg stretched out while her right arm placed over her bended right leg.(confusing, ne? If not, good. If it is, I'll post a picture resembling this scene somewhere...help? I kinda need a site for pics…Or not…he he…I get lazy…anyway, Arigato! XD) 

It had been three years after Sasuke's departure.

**NOTE:** If you read the manga, you'll know this part, but if not these are some spoilers for you…but, OH WELL! It's up to you! I made some things up though, heh! Why would this be a fanfic if I don't make my own stories, ne?

Naruto came back half a year ago with a whole new look and they both were immediately assigned to a mission. After that mission, they got another mission minus Kakashi, because of his using of his left eye, the Sharingan, he had to rest. They were ordered by Tsunade to go on a mission with this new, mysterious kid named Sai. The mission was successful and fortunately for them, Sasuke was unknowingly there, watching their fight with Orochimaru and had seen Naruto's transformation.

_Orochimaru was obviously losing his fight with the nine-tails demon. He was close to chakra depletion and his body was battered and bloody all over. Gathering his voice to reach his lips, he screamed for Sasuke to appear and help him._

_"SASUKE-KUN!" he yelled in total desperation. "Help me and fight the Kyuubi with all your might! Use what I've taught you!"_

_A young man, fourteen years of age, messy raven hair, deep black eyes, clad in black, a katana safely tucked behind him, dozens of weapons intelligently hidden in his clothes. The Uchiha Sasuke, has arrived…_

_The seven chakra-formed tails (I made him reach seven. In here, their Yamato-sensei wasn't able to make the jutsu for calming or whatever they do to the Kyuubi in Naruto) of Naruto miraculously died down. Out came the real Naruto. His claws retracted, teeth back to normal, lines streaked on his cheeks lessened its visibility and his flaming red eyes returned back to its beautiful baby blue shade. _

_"S-s-sasuke-teME!" he screamed shocked at the sight of his long-lost friend._

_Sakura, with their Yamato-sensei, watched the scene behind Naruto. Yamato watched, amazed at the sudden retreat of the burst of chakra in Naruto known as the Kyuubi. Sakura had a shocked and saddened expression on her face. She felt like there was a huge lump stuck in her throat that she couldn't seem to swallow. Her face paled and her green eyes looked like they were going to burst a flood of water any minute, but she held them back. She just curiously looked over Naruto and Sasuke's confrontation, in other words, a battle was surely about to happen if one of them won't do anything to try and stop it._

_Sai sought Kabuto and when he found him started a battle(In here, Sai won't be going with them...He's still with Konoha here, I'm gonna change his story…). They kept their distance from the five that were residing on the bridge. Kabuto had no time to defend his 'Orochimaru-sama', since he was too busy defending himself from Sai's attacks accompanied with his lions and tigers. Sai continued attacking him, paying no mind to the outgoing scene, saying it would be better to just see the outcome. Watching them would take too long to muster._

_Sasuke didn't see Sakura since she was behind Naruto. Sakura kept her silence. He kept quiet the whole time, while giving Naruto a piercing gaze, as if trying to dare him to make a move._

_Naruto's was different though. His eyes held sadness and anger. He couldn't speak properly but managed to say something._

_"Y-y-you-YOU! I-i c-c-can't believe you're still working with _that _teme! You sh-sh-should have l-le-left him! A-a-are y-you se-seriously g-go-going to fight me!"_

_Sasuke seemed unaffected and remained silent, stoic and unmoving. He was, as if, waiting for Naruto to make his move to start their bout._

_"Y-you d-didn't get to kill your stupid brother didn't you n-now?" Naruto tried to engage him in a conversation, that turned out to be a monologue, since he's the only one doing the talking. He was literally shaking in anger and despair._

_The dark-haired teen seemed to narrow his eyes, at the talk about his older brother. This urged Naruto to continue his said monologue to try and convince the guy to finally leave the limp-bodied snake freak and go back to Konoha. It's been two and a half years for Heaven's sake! Everyone in Konoha knew he won't go anywhere near his goal, since Orochimaru will eventually just use his body as a stupid container for his ugly self._

_The said 'traitor', knew of Orochimaru's plans. Several times the sannin already told him that and promised he would still fulfill his goals for him when the jutsu was completed. He stupidly believed the words of the weirdo and decided to come and become the guy's gopher. But, Naruto and Sakura knew more than that. With Naruto's new-found confidence he began his next statement._

_"You knew from the beginning that the freak's just going to use you as a container, right? He must've promised you that he would fulfill your goal for you, for you to just agree to his terms didn't he? If you wanted so much for your revenge to be done, I thought you wanted to kill your brother, to be able to feel you've avenged your clan. To be the person to get to end the life of the person you've hated the most in your life. Now you're just letting that guy do it for YOU! You disappoint me, Kakashi-sensei and most of all, Sakura-chan…If you told us that you would let other people kill Itachi, we would've done it sooner for you, us, together with everyone in the village, would've tried to help you…_

_Sasuke gritted his teeth, seeing that the dobe actually had a point. He stared at Naruto and shifted his gaze to the snake sannin. Orochimaru nodded in return, thinking that they both had the same thoughts, fighting Naruto and the others. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke had other thoughts in mind._

_Because of what was offered to him before, he thought it would've been the best offer he could get for power. He was probably too obsessed at the thought of killing his brother at once to even think clearly._

_"How do you expect someone like Orochimaru-teme, someone who can't even defeat your own brother help you defeat him? Yeah, he could say that you have what it takes, and not him because of his lack of the Sharingan, but couldn't you just ask any of the teachers in Konoha to help you. I mean, their just the same as him, strong, haven't defeated Itachi and doesn't have the Sharingan. If you really wanted to be strong, why not continue training under Kakashi-sensei who even has the Sharingan, a better prize than the snake!"_

_That did it. Sasuke finally made his decision. Who knew that it would take this long for him to understand that? Silly, everyone thinks of him as a genius, I guess anger and hatred can really make anyone blind. _

_The prodigy raised his right hand and reached for the silver katana's hilt. He slowly pulled the sword to fully remove it from its blue scabbard lying on his back. He stared at Naruto for a while, but shifted his gaze to Orochimaru. The snake sannin gave him a knowing nod, thinking that they had the same thoughts. Unfortunately for him, they didn't._

_"I don't need you anymore…I'm done with you…" he whispered, but the wind took it to everyone's ears to hear._

_With his eyes widening and the black slits in his golden eyes narrowing, the silver blade made its way to his heart, thus ending his being. The katana was slowly being pulled away by its owner, dripping darkened blood on its way. The dark-haired Uchiha gave one clean flick with his katana, removing the blood, and returning its shimmer. _

_Sasuke turned to them while returning his sword back to its rightful place. He finally spoke with his full voice to them and said,_

_"Alright, let's go."_

_Now that, Naruto and the others didn't expect. Everyone was too shocked to move._

_Shifting to Sai and Kabuto, Kabuto stared at the corpse of his defeated master. Sai took this chance to get things done and kill the guy. The gray-haired subordinate was too distracted to notice the death-bringing attack of Sai._

_He was finally dead, with one swing of a kunai through his neck. His body falling lifeless on the grass, bloodied with his own. His head falling into the river beneath the bridge. Sai decided to throw the body to go with its head, ending the medic's story. (a bit disgusting, ne? Too bad he had to die in my story, in a very disgusting way too…hmm…I'll probably do something about this…he he)_

_Back to Sasuke and the others…_

_"What?"_

_"Are you sure you're Sasuke?"_

_Naruto was literally looking at him close with narrowed eyes, suspecting his shocking behavior…_

_**BAM!**_

_"ITAI! ITAI! What'd you do that for TEME!"_

_"Dobe…Let's just go now…"_

_"First, you leave us and betray us for that snake freak. You then make our whole team suffer and now you just want us to take you home and welcome you! Did something got stuck in your brain that mind processes don't work well in that thick skull of yours!" (Okaaay…very un-Naruto-like, very un-Naruto-like…)_

_"Aa"_

_"ARRGH!" (WoW! That was annoying…)_

_Naruto was clutching his head and started screaming like crazy! He was absolutely confused of what's currently going on._

_"Are we going or not? If what you say is true, then I'll just continue getting supervised by Kakashi-sensei."_

_"…"_

_"AHHH! Okay! Okay! Let's go!"_

_The blonde teen definitely had no more options to choose from. Might as well start with this crap and start explaining stuff to Tsunade-no-baa-chan. _

_"HEEYYY! TRASHMOUTH! Get your dirty self here 'coz we're going back to the village!" The kid screamed making the two people behind him wince at the high decibels formed by his outrageous yell. Yamato didn't have time for discussions about talking to your comrades properly, meaning not to call them names. While Sakura…well, let's just say she isn't like that, so…_

_**BAMM!**_

_"ITAI! Sakura-chan that hurts! You really shouldn't use your monstrous strength on me you know!"_

_"I would if you could stop acting like a child at a time like this!"_

_"A time like this? A time like what?"_

_Oh! Ignorance truly is bliss! Phfft! Too bad Sakura didn't think so…_

_**BAMM!**_

_"AHHH!"_

_"Let's just go and explain everything to Tsunade-shishou…I wanna go home."_

_Naruto finally got it and decided to just agree to what Sakura said and go home. Sasuke was watching the whole scene and couldn't help but smirk, well on his mind since he clearly has no intention to make it visible to them. At first, when he heard Sakura's voice he was a bit stunned, he really didn't expect her to be on a mission like this, too dangerous and important, since it's connected to Orochimaru. He only had a glimpse of Sakura's hands and arms because, well Naruto was covering her form. And he, of course really didn't expect her to be the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage._

_Yamato saw that it really was right for them to finally leave. He told Sakura to call Sai so that they could go back home to Konoha._

_"HEY SAI!" Sakura yelled, full volume. "Come here! We're going back home!"_

_In a blink of an eye, Sai came and landed next to Sakura, behind Naruto. Sasuke saw Sai and immediately, they made an intense glaring contest. Hah! Let's find out who wins this ever-so-long fight. Naruto didn't want to get hit again, so he decided to be the one to end this silly game these silly little kids love to play._

_"Oh yeah, we forgot to tell you, this is another teme appointed by obaa-chan to join us in this mission. His name's Sai!" Naruto gave a very wide grin while pointing at the said dark male behind him._

_"So you're the traitor…" Sai said or rather whispered to himself._

_"Hn." was all Sasuke let out from the hole he rarely used, that could pass of as a mouth, just because he uses it to eat food and survive life._

_"Okay, okay cut it out people. Let's just go." Yamato interrupted, to just end this thing and go home._

_"Let's go." he repeated. Yamato left in a second and Sakura was the first to react. So she immediately left the same way their sensei did. Naruto started complaining with a set of yells and stuff and started on his heels and pulled the two Sa's with him to the village.

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Sakura couldn't help but feel a little pained when she remembered the time Sasuke finally saw her and how she changed. When they returned to the village, they went to the Hokage's tower first to tell the whole story to her Tsunade-shishou. Their Yamato-sensei went in the Hokage's office and told her to stay outside and just wait for the others to arrive.

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_Naruto and the two Sa's arrived. As usual Naruto greeted her with great enthusiasm with his 'SAKURA-CHAN!' Sai just stared at her and Sasuke…he just looked at her with a bored look on his face._

_"Uh…Yamato-sensei asked me to stay here and wait for you guys. He asked us to wait here until he finishes explaining things to Tsunade-shishou." she stated with an uncomfortable air around her. She felt her heart being stabbed by a gazillion knives, because she saw that Sasuke still had no intention of talking to her. And the way he looked at her right then and there seemed to hold some sort of angst and disgust. It was like telling her to leave. She just calmed herself by swallowing hard and taking a deep breath. _

_"Oh great, stuck with the traitor and the little prick with no balls!" Sai then smiled his usual fake smile._

_"AGHH! Will you stop calling me that? I'm seriously gonna make you pay!" Naruto was pissed and Sakura decided to intervene again like before and stop this nonsense._

_"Stop it now. Remember Naruto, calm down, calm down. Breathe in, breathe out." _

_Sasuke leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. The two continued to bicker and Sakura concluded that this probably won't stop until they hurt each other. She went beside Sasuke and initiated a conversation to start with him._

_"So…um…Sasuke, how have you been?"_

_"…"_

_"Uh…Oh…what happened to you during those two years with the Sound?"_

_"…"_

_"What I wanted to ask was…why did you…um…thank me when you left."_

_"No reason."_

_"Come on, why don't you talk to me? Did you learn anything interesting from them? Huh? Talk to me…" tears started gathering into her eyes and flowed like there was no tomorrow._

_"WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! You are just like before! Annoying as usual! Phft! Just when I thought that you have finally changed and come to your senses. You are so emotional that it's annoying the hell out of me!" Sasuke snapped at Sakura. The other two stopped bickering and started staring at the two. A steaming Sasuke and a hurt Sakura who took a step back._

_Sakura decided to just keep quiet and go back to her position before ─ in front of the door to the Hokage's office. Sai leaned against the wall like Sasuke. Naruto, decided to yell at him but stopped, he was matured enough to know that whatever he might do, Sasuke would never listen if it's about Sakura. So he just sat on the floor and minded his own business._

_The kunoichi's mind was swirling and a headache was creeping its way to her. Her chest seemed to tighten by every second and her breath seemed to constrict. She was feeling the pain. It came in late, but it was there. Slowly giving its effects and making her want to cry again. And she did._

_"Uh!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Hey dobe! Tell your temporary sensei and the Hokage that I'll be staying in my old apartment. I can't stand it here."_

_Without another word, he left and made his way to his so-called 'home'. Sakura was silent though soft sobs came from her. She wiped her tears away with her right arm and faced the two males behind her. She flashed them a fake smile, a smile that perfectly hid what she truly felt, but Naruto knew what was behind that smile of hers._

_"Naruto, Sai, please tell Yamato-sensei and Tsunade-shishou that I'll be going home now." she gave them a small wave with her left hand and left.

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That night she cried and cried. Her mother was asleep and since she wasn't a ninja, she didn't know of Sakura's arrival when she decided to enter by the window.

Tsunade decided to have Sasuke interrogated about what happened in Sound. He seemed to answer them with no trouble at all. So after that, she had Kakashi lead team 7 again with the addition of Sai, just to make sure that his coming back is not out of a plan made by Orochimaru. She was surprised that Sasuke actually killed Orochimaru with his own hands so she was suspicious. She assigned them usual missions and stuff, even D-ranked ones were given to them. This continued on for half a year, which means its already been three years since Sasuke's departure, and half a year since his arrival.

During those months, Sakura remained the same, even after Sasuke's words. She continued asking him on dates as usual. She did it out of joy and tradition. She clearly missed the old days and was desperately trying to get those back. Sakura was really happy of his return to Leaf and she didn't really hold any grudge or pain when he snapped at her. All that mattered to her was that he was back. He has returned to leaf…returned to her.

Only, that something happened the day before that made her want to do something for him…

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_"OHAYOU SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura greeted with a very happy smile on her face._

_Sasuke didn't even flinch nor glance at her. He acted as if she didn't even arrive…or exist. The smile on Sakura's face didn't fade, it just stayed there as she leaned on the railing of the bridge, right beside Sasuke. Minutes passed, but Naruto still wasn't around, so she decided to break the silence and start talking._

_"You know Sasuke-kun, I'm really happy today!" she stated with a wide smile gracing her features while facing the said boy. The problem was, he didn't seem like he was listening, but Sakura knew that having sharp senses would make him able to hear him, no matter what he does so she decided to continue, without waiting for a response from Sasuke._

_"Well, it's because I'm finally able to see you everyday! I was so sad when you left and felt like everything around me was going to fall apart. You were gone, and because of that I decided to go train and become strong – just for you – under the Fifth Hokage's guidance. This morning I just started thinking about these and –"_

_"What is it with you with these stupid feelings? You said you knew all the rules by the book of the ninja and still you can't seem to follow that ONE single rule. Shinobis are supposed to be void of emotions to be able to be successful in their missions, you, however do not seem to understand this condition." Sasuke interrupted her, quite rudely._

_"I know…but…these emotions make people feel alive and make them feel that the world is here and their standing on it, waking up every morning knowing that these things are going to make them feel good." she replied to defend herself from his belief._

_"…It's been a long time since I ever felt alive…" Sasuke whispered to himself, but wasn't able to escape the kunoichi's ears. _

_"You're stupid." Instead of saying what he really felt he let foreign words to flow from his mouth. _

_Sakura saw that somehow, Sasuke missed the feeling of being…happy…the feelings that make people feel alive. She saw that he was still in pain, always pondering ways to kill his brother and avenge his clan. He…LOVED…his family that much and she felt his anguish._

_There was silence._

_The wind howled._

_The leaves of the trees flew past them, following the wind's direction._

_She was looking straight at him._

_He was looking deep into the flowing water beneath the bridge._

_She was trying to decipher him._

_He was thinking hard._

_**POOF!**_

_Their very much known sensei, Hatake Kakashi, has arrived. This was clearly unusual. He arrived BEFORE Naruto came. The world is probably nearing its end…And the last word that would be heard within its boundaries would be…_

"_Yo!"_

_Nice…_

_Sakura immediately turned into her jolly old self in front of their teacher. Sasuke being his normal self…brooding (poor kid). The jounin seemed oblivious to what was happening, started explaining his UNUSUAL appearance._

"_Well, apparently Naruto, accidentally ate something other than ramen this morning…which led to some rare sickness…and as sad as this may seem, he won't be able to join us in our training."_

"_So…we'll be trying several drills, new ones, I might add. I've already assembled a place for you, just two kilometers from here. First, you'll be climbing a wall using ropes, instead of your chakra, as you should know, obviously this is physical training without chakra. Next, you'll be doing some crawling under barb wires, which are extremely sharp. Then, you'll be…"

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Kakashi continued, stating other forms of drills. The second part was the time when it started to rain, getting them dirtied with mud. No words were exchanged from the two during their training. They just trained and trained. At least their sensei raised their spirits by telling them that Naruto would be doing the same training, a harder one, and other than that, during his training, they would just be watching him. Oh the joy!

Still Sakura's head was still filled with confusion of what to do. She was thinking hard about Sasuke. After a few more moments of thinking, she was able to make a decision…

"_I'll do it."_

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_A/N:_**Hey, about my other fics, I know I should be concentrating on those but I wanted to try something new. I also can't continue writing fics without some sort of inspiration...**

**Sorry about that! Just try to understand...I'm already crazy and my life's crazy as it is! he he**

**Please review, I don't know if I should use this kind of style on my other stories - a.k.a the silly products of my freakingly weird imagination. I write stories but I just can't seem to get the story in my head right in my writing...**

**Please...just review. I think I'm getting a headache...**


	2. Losing those that aren't needed

**Here's the second one! Kindly review, he he... I'm really not used to writing stories that aren't funny, so I added some fun stuff here...might seem corny...Oh Well!**

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**_Chapter 2: Losing those that are not needed - Part I_**

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It was dark. The sky was dark and cloudy. Everything around her was covered by a thick blanket of fog. It was night, but the only visible speck on the sky was the moon, stars didn't appear to be in their places on the plains above her.

She walked around the village since she decided to accept an offer she just thought of answering this morning.

Today was their day off. It was Naruto's turn to train. He really could heal fast, either because of the nine-tails or his body's extremely strange metabolism.

She went to their Kakashi-sensei this afternoon and informed him that she was not going to watch him. He agreed, saying that she's probably not feeling very well and it was better for her to rest. Other than that, Sasuke didn't arrive too because he also wanted to _rest_, with rest meaning train in the forest alone.

She walked and walked, took a few twists and turns and arrived at an old cottage, just found at the east of the forest in front of Konoha. The cottage was made of wood and was a bit beat up. It was messed with rich, green vines and was illuminated from the inside, which meant that someone lived in that hut.

She knocked three times on the door. She waited for a minute, but there was no response. So, she decided to knock on it again.

The door was suddenly opened by a man wearing a large, hooded, violet cloak, when she was about to knock on it again. His face was shadowed by his cloak's hood, and because of this, his face couldn't be seen. Though, it was still visible that he was probably by the age of fifty already.

She was wearing a dark blue cloak that didn't have a hood like the man, and underneath it was her usual attire with the circular symbol on her back (the one she wears in the manga after two and a half years).

"Sakura…I've been waiting for you. Please, come in." he stated in a sort of melodic voice that sounded creepy instead of welcoming. He outstretched his arms towards the inside of his home, giving way for her to go inside.

She was reluctant, but still entered the hut. The man offered Sakura a seat, but she refused to do so, saying that she won't stay long.

"So, I presume you have made a decision?"

"…Yes…I have."

"Does this mean you will agree to all the terms and conditions I've made?"

"Yes."

The man gave a pause and asked, "Are you sure?". She brought her finger to her lips, bowed down and thought things over. In a short while, she raised her head to face the man and said, "Hai."

"…Alright then…Just get this…You won't be able to ever return things back to normal anymore after this. This is just a warning, but since you have already accepted my offer, we will start right now." he stated, this time, in a very serious tone.

"Anything for…_him_." she replied giving a solemn look to the man.

"Don't forget to wear the necklace I gave you."

She just nodded in reply, since she already wore the trinket around her neck.

He was about to lead her out to the forest, when she suddenly called to him. "…but…what I don't understand is why you are doing this, why do you want to help me and him? It seems that you won't really be getting anything from this…"

The man stopped when she called out to him. "It's my job to help people, I saw that you were indeed in pain and needed some of my help…It…makes me feel good…" he replied without glancing at her. "Now let's go before we miss the full moon."

This statement made her panic a bit seeing that if they don't do it now, they won't be able to do it as early as possible. It would take weeks before another full moon, and she won't be able to wait that long.

The man was already out in the forest so she quickened her pace to catch up to him. She was finally able to walk side by side with him after a few minutes. They walked and walked, until they reached the clearing in the middle of the forest. The man told her to stand in the middle of the clearing and concentrate. She willingly obeyed and stood there, closing her eyes to concentrate.

The man took out a violet-colored ink that was contained in a sophisticated vial filled with symbols from his cloak. He made a pentagram that was as large as the clearing by using symbols. Strange as it may seem, but the ink inside the container didn't seem to decrease and continued to stay at a constant amount.

The moon was full and was finally hovering over Sakura, exactly on the middle of the clearing. The man saw this and started to chant words unknown to her, while his hands extended in front of him with his palms facing her. Suddenly, purple light emanated from his hands and flowed into the symbols written on the ground.

Sakura felt a stinging pain surge from her toes…then her feet…her legs…stomach. She screeched in pain, but tried to concentrate more and ignore the feeling. The tip of her fingers started to sting…her hands…arms…her neck…then her head. She gritted her teeth to contain the urge to scream.

She was able to bear the aching feeling of her body, but what came next made her cry and yell out her feeling of torture. The pain from her body all concentrated on her chest, where her heart lies.

She was then engulfed in purple light that turned into white. She felt numb as the pain got worse. The light subsided as well as the pain when the moon started to misalign from the pentagram. Symbols drawn on the ground started retreating into her form. It was dragged from the ground, onto her body. The symbols, then all concentrated on her necklace. It looked as if the necklace was absorbing all the symbols into it.

The necklace glowed white for a while, but then turned into a violet shade. She fell to the ground, panting with her right hand clutching the necklace and the other supporting her weight on the soil beneath her.

"The ritual is complete. You may go…whenever you feel an intense emotion it will slowly be contained into the necklace. When it's complete, don't forget to give this 'Sasuke' the necklace."

And with that, he left leaving a puff of violet smoke.

Sakura was left there, tired. Her body hurt so much that she let her body fall down. She lied there asleep the whole night, lucky for her, animals didn't come near her because of some ominous aura surrounding her…

* * *

…_Next morning…_

"YAWN!"

Sakura woke up in the clearing. She stood up and stretched her arms wide.

"I better go home before our training today starts."

She skipped her way to her home and started to change from her dirty clothes. She was able to successfully enter her room through her window without her mother noticing.

After she took a bath, changed her clothes and wore the necklace, she ran straight down the stairs and yelled to her mother before leaving.

"Mom, I'm going to train with my team today! Gotta go!" Then she left in a flash.

Her mother was left there asking herself if Sakura did come home last night.

She arrived at the bridge and saw that Sasuke and Naruto were already there. Sasuke was leaning on the bridge's railing, eyes closed. Naruto, on the other hand, was ranting about how their sensei was always late, wasting their training time.

"OHAYOU SASUKE-KUN!"

Sasuke didn't even flinch. Naruto was yelling his insides out, trying to get Sakura's attention. He was jumping around her and tripped, making him to accidentally get his face on Sakura's butt.

"AAHHH! Sakura-chan I'm really, really sorry! It was an accident!" The blonde boy waved his hands in front of him.

Sakura's face flushed and she turned to Naruto to start her spanking and shouting, but she suddenly stopped dead.

_Shing_

_Shing_

_Shing…_

Her necklace started to glow red and stayed red. Her eyes turned gray for a while, but eventually returned back to its original green shade.

"Uh…Sakura-chan…he he…a-are you alright?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Huh…What?"

"I asked…are you alright?" he tried again.

"Oh! Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

One of her eyebrows raised and her eyes held total confusion.

"Okaay…anyway, can you forgive me?"

"Huh? Forgive you for what?"

Now Naruto's jaw fell and his eyes looked as if it would pop out and jump to another planet. It was as if Sakura was just born today, trying to discover the simple things of the world.

"You know…a minute ago I –" he wasn't able to finish his sentence since Sakura decided to let the topic drop and just wait for their sensei to come.

"Whatever, let's just wait for Kakashi-sensei, ne?"

o.O

Okay…was he really talking to Sakura or was this some prank being played by their early bird sensei? Alright that's crazy, maybe this really is Sakura? Or this could probably be the mark of the end of the world!

Unfortunately, Naruto chose the last one, to him it seemed to be the most LOGICAL one. He started crying out loud 'it's the end of the world!' over and over again, while running around Sakura.

Sasuke and Naruto were both expecting for Sakura to get angry and bop Naruto's head any minute.

3

2

1

…

Nothing came.

Naruto fainted, muttering words like, 'end of the world' or 'no more ramen'.

Sasuke saw this as some kind of mood swing of Sakura and decided to not care at all, though deep inside he was a bit curious at what just happened.

None of them seemed to notice the new necklace Sakura wore. It remained red, but wasn't glowing anymore.

POOF!

"Ta-da!"(or in other words "Jang.")

Ah…the mighty Kakashi has arrived. His smile turned upside down seeing that none of them was currently paying attention to his arrival. Sasuke was staring of into space on the bridge, Naruto was out cold, and Sakura was poking Naruto with a stick.

Kakashi scratched his head, thinking that this is what he gets having a weird team.

"So, are you guys ready to train?" he asked trying to probably get attention from them.

Naruto bolted upright, hearing the word 'train'. Sakura was surprised by this and fell back.

"AHH! Gomen Sakura-chan! I didn't mean it!"

"Yeah, whatever. C'mon we're going to train!"

That did it. Naruto fainted again! Kakashi saw this and smile again started to tug on his lips.

"Sakura, Sasuke! You guys go train. I have some business with Naruto here."

And with that, both of them sped off into the woods to start training.

On their way to the training ground, Sakura started to talk to Sasuke.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, I've brought some lunch for us. We can eat it after we train."

"…"

Sakura frowned, but still held on to her hope of having him taste the food she worked hard on.

They landed on a clearing in the woods. It was the same clearing Sakura went to last night.

"You do your training on your own, while I do mine. Mind your own business."

Then he went to his own side of the circular clearing. His face remained stoic and never feeling. Sakura watched him walk to his side of the area. She faced the ground, closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. She started her training, the same time as him.

* * *

With Naruto and Kakashi-sensei… 

Kakashi was kneeling in front of Naruto's form. He wore an evil grin while staring at the boy.

"Train."

Naruto bolted upright and looked to his sides screaming 'training'. He looked to his right to find Sakura there.

"It's alright Naruto forget about it."

The blonde boy blinked and remembered that he asked forgiveness before. So…he fainted again, mumbling 'world is ending' and 'my sweet ramen'.

"Train."

Naruto woke up again, but this time stood up and searched the place for his team.

"Whatever. Forget about it Naruto."

He saw Sakura standing on his right. Oh yeah he fainted again.

Kakashi turned back to himself and was snickering. He was enjoying himself WAAYY too much.

He repeated this process again and again.

* * *

Now back to Sasuke and Sakura… 

Both of them were finally tired and were facing each other lying on the opposite ends of the clearing.

Sakura stood up, deciding that this would be the best time for her to give Sasuke the meal she made and sit with him to eat. She took out two lunchboxes from her backpack and walked toward the raven-haired lad.

His eyes were closed, but he very well knew that she was coming closer. _I've no time for this!_, he thought, furrowing his eyebrows. He quickly stood up, and accidentally knocked over the lunch that was slowly extending to him.

Sakura was on the verge of crying, but tried to suppress her tears.

"Oh that's okay. Here Sasuke-kun, take mine. I'm not hungry anyway…" She smiled and held out to him the other lunchbox she was carrying.

"I've no time for that. Instead of thinking about my stomach, why don't you mind your own business and train." And with that he left her and started looking for a new training ground. He knew it was harsh but he had no time to waste.

She couldn't take it anymore and broke down on her knees. She felt like her heart was being gripped harder and harder by the second. Tears started forming in her eyes.

_Shing_

_Shing_

_Shing…_

Her necklace started glowing blue and remained blue. Her eyes turned gray for a while but returned to its original color.

When her tears were about to flow, it suddenly stood frozen. She felt like there was this big weight lifted from her shoulders. It was weird though, one minute she felt as if she could cry a whole sea out of her eyes, and the other, she felt nothing. The pink-haired kunoichi thought hard on why she wanted to cry a while ago, but remembered nothing.

Sakura shrugged the thought away and started leaping on trees to go to their sensei and ask if they'd be doing any missions.

* * *

Sasuke was tired, most of his chakra was drained and because of that he needed to rest. He started off to go to the bridge and see what the dobe and their sensei was talking about. Maybe he could find out something from their supposed 'business'. 

He arrived and he regretted his coming. He was currently hiding behind some bushes and was watching something he called 'horrific'. He saw Kakashi playing with Naruto, like a child who found a new toy. Like what Sakura did earlier, he was currently poking Naruto with a stick after laughing like crazy. Kakashi, unfortunately lost a whopping TWENTY respect points from Sasuke (Can you guess where this is from? He he .).

"You can come out now. Both of you."

Sasuke was surprised to find that, like him, Sakura was there watching the whole scene. They appeared in front of their sensei immediately.

"I'm gonna take him to his house. You two can go home now and rest."

"Oh yeah, um, sensei, are we going to have any missions tomorrow?"

"Well, Tsunade-sama asked for our presence at her office tomorrow at nine in the morning, so we'll probably have one. Well anyway, ja ne!"

"Wait! Kakashi-sensei, what were you doing to Naruto."

"My business."

Kakashi left with a 'POOF'. Sakura shook her head as she smiled. She then turned to Sasuke and waved a goodbye. The girl gave him a smile before leaping out of view.

Sasuke was left there staring at her, hopping on different roofs and trees. Somehow, he had a feeling that something was not right. He had this presentiment that these happy moments weren't going to last.

Something was coming.

…_Sakura…_

He started leaping on buildings and went home to his apartment.

* * *

**Please review...or else I'll hold my breath and and ... Oh well, can't reall force you can't I? Anyway thanks for my firt reviewer and my second! Namely...drum roll please**

**Dum, dum, dum**

**MoonlightSnow and inuyashaHELP**

**MoonlightSnow - **THANK YOU so MUCH! Thank you for reviewing(currently bowing in front of you). It's an honor to be inyour Alert list. .

**inuyashaHELP - **First of all, THANK YOU for reviewing! Well, I think that even though Sakura's grown, she still has that side of her that wants to be a child, namely INNER SAKURA. She will probably not appear here but it shows she's still there. Like me for example, I'm a teenager and I still go act like a child running around silly, even though at times, I would act seriously. Sakura would act serious, only when she needs to be and would act like the old Sakura when she feels like it. Anyway, like I said in the first chap, she only asks Sasuke on dates out of tradition. Oke? .

**A/N: Please excuse my childishness...Oh and I'm also stubborn, he he...**

**A/N2: I almost forgot! I need some more emotions like anger, sadness, etc. stuff like that. I need your help people! PLEASE? THANK YOU! You can't seem to refuse can't you? XD **

**A/N3: Oh yeah! And PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU! he he he... XD (Jolly ain't I?)**


	3. Losing Them All

**Chapter 3: Losing Everything**

_

* * *

March 28._

Such a big date for the people of Konoha.

Firstly, it's because it's also the day of the big Sakura Festival.

Second, it's because it's the birthday of a certain known pink-haired kunoichi.

Blue birds perched on a tall cherry blossom tree, chirped near the girl's window. She was currently resting under the covers of her white bed. The sun's rays reflected on her porcelain white face, thus waking her from her delicate slumber.

_Yawn..._

She stretched her arms and did her usual routine. The girl dressed herself in normal clothes, since their sensei told them they won't be having any training for today.

She found it reasonable because it was the Sakura Festival today. Strange how she forgot that ONE special detail occurring at the same date.

Sakura gleefully wore her pale yellow sundress with matching sandals. To finish the look, she also wore a yellow ribbon on her head. At first, she had doubts on removing her forehead protector, but thought that there was an occasion, so she was permitted to wear anything.

"Sayonara, Okaa-san!"

Waving goodbye before leaving, she dashed out of the house.

"Sakura, do you want strawbe –"

Her mother wanted to ask her which flavor she wanted for her cake, but didn't get to finish her question seeing Sakura already gone.

She decided that she should be using strawberry, because it was Sakura's favorite, and need not to be asked again.

The forty-year-old lady shook her head in amusement for missing that info about her daughter.

"Oh! Sakura-chan good morning."

"Ohayou obaa-san!"

Sakura was walking around the village with a big smile on her face and her hands intertwined on her back.

"Um, do you need any help in decorating your store?"

"This? Don't worry I can handle this by myself. You go and enjoy the festival, alright?"

"Will do. See you!"

She then continued on her way to the Godaime's office. Unknown to her was the presence of another being lurking near.

…_kukuku_…

* * *

_At the Godaime's office…_

"Hokage-sama, reports show that an unknown nin has gained access to the village."

A shinobi, wearing a mask representing an animal reported to the Hokage.

From the door, a timid knock was heard and a lady with the name Shizune, peeked through it.

"Tsunade-sama, excuse me for intruding, but Tonton is really pestering me to get you to walk him around the village to join the festivities there."

"Tonton?"

"Hai."

The blonde-haired lady sighed and faced the ANBU in front of her.

"Continue to scout the area for that nin. Make sure several nins are positioned around the village. Don't let anything interfere the festival, and before I forget, don't let the villagers know of this. It would make them panic and cause more trouble. Understood? You are dismissed."

The lad disappeared suddenly, leaving Tsunade and Shizune alone with their 'obligations' to their sweet pig Tonton.

* * *

Nighttime overcame Konoha and the different-colored lights were finally visible over the pool of black and blue in the atmosphere. 

Sakura trees were decorated with white and blue lights. Houses, brightly lit.

Hatake Kakashi:

ex-ANBU Current teacher of a group of shinobis, Team 7 Current position… At the comfort of his home reading the latest Icha Icha Paradise book or in other words, the obscene, perverted and disgustingly orange book.

Kakashi-sensei of Team 7 was there, lying on his bed, chuckling and mumbling stuff to himself with words like 'how smart of you' or 'you're good'. He apparently said a stupid excuse to his students, telling them that he didn't feel well and needed to stay at home to rest.

Of course, you'd say that they would've offered to help him, but he was just too quick of a thinker for them and told them that he would be fine by himself, saying that he had stocked up a lot of medicine in his house.

Sakura and Naruto were outside of their own homes enjoying the festival, but not together. Naruto was up and about, running around the village looking for Sakura, but unfortunately, every time he left a place after searching for Sakura there, Sakura would appear there. Thus, they don't meet.

If you're thinking of Sasuke, well you know him and his loner attitude. He, again, stuck his stupid butt in his stupid room, stupidly doing nothing at all.

The lights were off, and his wallpaper being dark blue, made the atmosphere a LOT more darker than ever.

…_I wonder where Sakura got that pendant of hers…_

At least it seemed that someone actually noticed something different about her.

Sasuke lay on his back on his bed, staring at the unlit room's ceiling. He was thinking so hard, that he didn't seem to blink anymore, while boring a hole through the wall with his hard gaze.

* * *

_WOW! It seems like everyone in the village is here…well, except for Kakashi-sensei. Poor him getting sick at a time like this!_ (A/N: Ooh…if you only knew…)_I wonder where Naruto and Sasuke are? Well, Sasuke's probably staying at home, while Naruto's probably eating ramen at Ichiraku._

Sakura walked around the village while admiring the beautifully lit lamps and sprayed flowers all over the village.

Suddenly, as she turned to a corner to the right, she bumped into something…or better…someONE!

"OW! Watch where you're going, forehead-girl!"

"Sorry I couldn't, since your big snot was in the way, Ino-pig!"

The two girls rose up from their tangled position and began dusting off the dirt on their clothes. As soon as they stood up, they looked the other way, pissed off at each other's faces.

Sakura and Ino opened one eye and peeked at each other, then smiled.

"Long time no see, forehead-girl."

"Yeah…Ino-pig."

They both greeted each other with an unusual gentleness in their voices.

Ino was currently wearing a light blue turtleneck dress that just ended above her knee.

"Nice dress…weird, since I seem to have never laid eyes on that dress you're wearing right now…" Ino commented with a little confusion in her voice.

"You look good too…but it's really strange seeing you wear something light-colored for once…" Sakura gave back a comment with an expression looking like she was remembering something.

"Yeah…it's the one you gave me before you trained with Tsunade-sama." (I made this up so don't go researchin' XD)

"Hmm…I remember now. Anyway this ribbon was the one from you, since you told me I needed to have other colors in my look…and this dress…I just found it in my closet this morning, I don't really know where it's from, but my mom didn't seem to notice…"

Ino suddenly had that teasing look in her eyes and started bonking Sakura on the head.

"Your so dumb aren't you forehead-girl? You actually forgot what today is! That dress is probably from your mom!"

"Huh? How would you know?"  
The blonde shook her head in amusement, not believing any of this.

"It's your birthday stupid! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The said 'stupid' girl was in utter shock, mentally kicking herself for forgetting that.

"Thanks, Ino…"

Ino glanced at her and just released a chain of laughter all the way to Sakura's house.

* * *

"Haaa….she probably doesn't even know it's her birthday." Sakura's mom lay on the dining table, exhausted, after making food and decorating the house. 

DINGDONG!

The lady raised one of her eyebrows, wondering who could be at the door. She rose from her seat and went to greet the unknown visitor at the door.

She unlocked the door and turned the knob, "Yes, how may I- " She stood there surprised to see Ino and Sakura at the door.

"Sakura! Ino! Come in! Ino how are you? You haven't visited us for a while. And Sakura how come you-"

"Mom," Sakura bowed her head, asking for forgiveness, "I'm sorry for keeping you."

Her mother smiled warmly at her, "Don't worry about it Sakura. It's your birthday we should be celebrating right now!"

And so, she, her mother, and Ino celebrated her birthday in her own home. After which, they all went outside to watch the fireworks of the festival.

* * *

As for Naruto…he unwillingly fell asleep at Ichiraku for eating, well let's say, a hundred bowls or more of ramen. 

Because of not seeing Sakura today, he decided on greeting her a 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' tomorrow.

* * *

Meanwhile, back to Sakura's… 

"Bye Ino, dear, come visit again next time!" Sakura's mother waved at Ino by the door.

"Yeah, see you Ino-pig!" Sakura waved goodbye at her too.

The two watched the blonde's retreating form and seeing as she was already gone, they closed the door and went to their respective rooms. Before doing so, they kissed each other's cheeks goodnight.

Sakura slept peacefully in her bed, unaware of the trials that she might encounter in the morning.

_Shing…_

_Shing…_

_Shing…_

Her necklace started glowing green then glowed pink. The pendant stayed pink…

* * *

The sun rose and morning came… 

"AAHHH…" Naruto ran around a tree near the bridge, yelling screams of irritation and boredom, "I knew I should've come here a little later!"

Apparently, he was the first one to arrive at their meeting place, excited about greeting Sakura. Unfortunately, he came a little tad, too early for everyone's sake.

His eyes lit up as he sees a blotch of dark blue nearing his position. It was Sasuke. Naruto was currently ready and okay for any kind of appearance of a person, as he hasn't seen one for so long…for him, at least.

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!"

"…" (Not even one glance…)

Oooh…Naruto sure is unfortunate, since having Sasuke as company is the same as having no one at all.

Sasuke finally reached Naruto's position, but he just passed the guy's form. His eyes shut and hands inside his pockets, just walked slowly to the bridge and leaned by its railing.

Naruto's eyes turned into slits in total anger and his mouth formed into a pout.

"FINE! Be that way! I'll just watch for _my _Sakura-chan's arrival!"

An hour passed and then…

POOF!

Ta ta rara tara! Kakashi arrived early! AMAZING! (Okay…stop…it's gettin' weird…)

"Yo."

"AHHH! You, y-you," Naruto pointed rudely at their sensei with a horrified expression, "Y-you came EARLY!"

"Really? What time is it?"

Naruto showed him from a watch kept in his pocket that it was only 6:00 AM.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes a bit and looked at his own watch on his wrist and it read…

9:00 AM!

He stood there stupefied. _Wh-what?_ Someone probably set his watch's time differently…_I wonder who?..._

Then it hit him, Tsunade-same and Shizune borrowed his watch the other day for some unknown reason…

"Let's just wait for Sakura then. We can't really start training without our team complete, now, can we?"

"Whatever!"

"Hn."

It was silent for a few minutes in the team, some scratches and paper flipping here and there, but that was it.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"AAARRGGHH!" Naruto really couldn't stand it. The silence was driving him nuts I tell you, NUTS!

"Where's my Sakura-chan!" He was literally sobbing all the way, seeing as he's with one frostbitten rock and one red-cheeked bookworm.

"AAHHH!"

"…"

"…"

"AAHHH!"

"…"

"…"

"Nobody loves me!" Naruto was pulling his blond hair in utter frustration mumbling some weird stuff to himself. He just lost half of his sanity just being with these two oddities. He really needed Sakura now and I mean NOW!

Just then…a savior has finally come! Pink hair, creamy-like skin, beautiful green eyes and _what?_ black dress? Oh well, she probably just thought of changing her look.

"Sakura-chan! HOW ARE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

He started at her, as she approached, with his signature toothy grin.

But strange things really do happen…she glanced at him and…

"Hn."

"…"

"…"

"…"

This 'hn' actually caught the other two's attention. They all stared at her with their eyes wide.

"Ahahaha! Funny Sakura-chan! For a minute there I thought you were trying to turn yourself into a weird Sasuke clone! Ahahaha! Good one!"

"Hn."

"Okaaay…Sakura-chan that's not funny anymore!"

"Hn."

"AAARRGGHH!" And so, Naruto got stuck between the worlds of the three '…'s.(KIDDING!)

Kakashi leaped from his comfortable position on the tree and stood in front of 'dear' Sakura. She felt her forehead for any sign of overheating…none.

"Sakura are you sick?"

"No."

Ouch…yeah she changed the word, but it definitely was a hundred times colder. Wonder if she let out a sentence? Would they freeze? …I hope not…

Now, this caught Sasuke's full attention and finally walked over to where everyone was.

"Hey! Sasuke-teme! You try talking to her!"

"Dobe! I'm right here! You don't have to freakin' shout!"

Although it really wasn't Sasuke's style to follow orders from the likes of Naruto, he decided on trying to talk to her. This definitely was out of the ordinary for her to be this emotionless.

"Oi. Sakura…what's gotten into you?" He shot an uncaring look at her face.

"Nothing." She shot him just the same look.

Naruto was in the middle, seeing that the two were now in a staring contest, in which Sasuke lost, since he was the first to break apart from the stare.

Sasuke noticed something different there, though…

_She didn't have that gleam in her eyes like before…_

* * *

**A/N:** Please forgive me, for this is utterly short (shorter than most at least...). Anywayz, thanks for the wonderful readers who bothered reading this... I'm really, really sorry for the shortness, but I just did this to finally extinguish all forms of emotions in Sakura. 

We got rid of, let's see...

Anger

Sadness

Happiness, and

LOVE

Yeah, you heard itright, LOVE!

Just please wait for the next chapter and you'll see what happens during training...(probably more noticing and blushing here and there...he he he >entangles hands together in an evil maniac sort of way XD!)

**P.S.** Sorry for the late update, my parents brought me to a diff country and sorry no tellies which one. I was dawned to celebrate my birthday in an airplane. We unfortunately got the same flight date as my b-day(March 24).

**P.S.2 **I only have this teensy weensy thing here...I write this stories with privacy...none of my family members know... AH! Sorry...

Anyway, ja ne! .


End file.
